A DOCTOR who used to work in Chester and Wirral has been cleared of causing the death of a two-day-old baby triplet.

Dr Kosalakumar Karunaratne, 36, who had been accused of negligently administering an anti-epileptic drug to him, walked free from court after the prosecution case collapsed.

He was discharged from the dock at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday following a break in the cross-examination of the Crown's first witness, nurse Lynne Ballard.

Prosecutor David Steer QC said: 'I have a duty constantly to review the progress of a case and take any appropriate action.

'A number of difficulties have arisen here. As a result I have decided it is appropriate no longer to seek a conviction for manslaughter and I offer no further evidence.'

The jury was directed by Judge David Clarke QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, to formally return a 'not guilty' verdict against Dr Karunaratne.

The doctor, from Chester Road East, Shotton, Deeside, had previously worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral. He had denied the manslaughter of Adam Teare on February 25 last year.

Adam, one of three triplets, including two girls, was born 11 weeks early to a Birkenhead couple, accountant Nicola Teare and solicitor Keith Teare.

He was put in an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

It was claimed that Dr Karunaratne had negligently administered the anti-epileptic drug Phenytoin to Adam when he should have been using sterile water to flush the drip feed on his arm.

Contrary to standard practices the medic had withdrawn the solution he had used to flush the drip feed tube connected to Adam's right arm from an ampoule which had already been opened by someone else and he had failed to examine or make any enquiries as to the contents of that ampoule, alleged Mr Steer.

He added: 'Phenytoin should never, ever have been administered to Adam and the doctor's actions amounted to an offence of gross negligence breaching his duty of care to his patient and causing Adam's death.'

Outside court Dr Karunaratne's solicitor Julian Linskill said: 'My client has found the past 13 months extremely distressing and without the support of his wife and family the ordeal of awaiting trial would have been impossible.

'He was and remains greatly saddened by the death of Adam and feels the deepest sympathy for his parents.

'From the very beginning he has always said it was not his act that led to Adam's death.

'He is greatly relieved to have been cleared.'

Mr Linskill said it was unlikely Dr Karunaratne would return to the hospital.

A Sri Lankan-born senior house officer, he had been in his third week of a six-month post at the hospital at the time.